Ravan, King of Lanka is one of the mightiest characters in Indian mythology. Ravan was an all-powerful king who was feared even by the Gods. He derived his immense power from Lord Shiva whom he had pleased through his devotion and worship. Ravan had been given the elixir of life by Lord Shiva and it was said that he could not be killed till this nectar or elixir of life remained in Ravan’s stomach. That is why Lord Ram could finally kill Ravan only by shooting his divine arrow in Ravan’s navel. This story however is not about the power of Ravan. It is about an all-powerful life lesson that Ravan learnt when his end was near. After Lord Ram had vanquished Ravan and he lay mortally wounded in the battlefield, Lord Ram told his brother Laxman, “Dear brother, whatever Ravan may have been and irrespective of all misdeeds he might have committed in his life, he is undoubtedly still a great scholar who can teach us a few things. Therefore, go and meet Ravan and learn something useful from him.” Laxman was loath to go to Ravan for anything, and least of all to learn something. However, he could not disobey his elder brother and so he went to see where Ravan lay on the battlefield. Ravan saw Laxman and turned his head away without saying anything. An angry Laxman went back to Lord Ram and said, “Even though Ravan has lost and is about to die, he is unrepentant and full of himself. I went to meet him as you had instructed, but he turned his head...

They say “keeping a good company” is extremely important for a person. All my life, I have heard the advice – “you are known by the company you keep.” It is a standard advice given by parents to their children that they should always keep good company and make “good” friends. Good being defined as intelligent, studious, courteous, polite, knowledgeable etc. And I had always wondered why it is important to have good friends. As if in answer to this question, about 35 year ago I came across a story in Chandamama –a children’s magazine, which went something like this… Sage Narad Too Wanted To Know The Benefits Of Good Company Once upon a time, long ago, Sage Narad went to meet Lord Vishnu to understand the importance of good company. “O Lord, everyone says that you should always make good friends and be in the company of good people. Please tell me what are the benefits of a good company? Lord Vishnu smiled and said, “O learned one, if you would like to know the answer to this excellent question of yours, please go down to the earth. Go to the dandak forest. There you will find a banyan tree in the centre of this forest. Under that banyan tree, you’ll find a newborn cockroach. Go and ask the baby cockroach this question. I am sure you will be able to get an answer.” Sage Narad though a little surprised, did what he was advised. He went to the dandak forest, and found the baby cockroach under the banyan tree. On finding the new-born cockroach, he asked the...